


The Escape Cab

by WillGrammer



Series: Panicking Criminals [1]
Category: Cold Comes the Night (2013), The House is Burning (2006)
Genre: Best Friends, But so is Lloyd, Character Study, Death Threats, Dumbass Boys, Fluff, Gun Violence, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mentioned robbery, Panicking Criminals, Phil is a bad person, Pissed Lloyd, Protective Lloyd, Protective Phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-10-31 01:37:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10889076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillGrammer/pseuds/WillGrammer
Summary: Phil managed to run out from the store with a bag full of money, now all he needs is an escape cab, and he knows the perfect driver for it.





	The Escape Cab

The rush that went through his veins and pumped his blood sent shivers down his spine and didn't stop until he was already running off the main street, adrenaline filling him as the black bag pack of money hung off tightly around his shoulder. phone in hand, Phil dialed the number of a close friend he knew he could put his trust in at a time like this. Conveniently, that friend was a taxi driver, and He needed a ride. Someway to vanish for the next few hours until things would calm down around the store and the near few blocks. He couldn't risk anyone recognizing him, and that's exactly what will happen if he'll start walking back home, reeking of blood and a strangely heavy black bag pack. Every idiot could do the math. Even at nearly 11 PM.

 

He managed to gain back some of his breath before he heard the familiar voice of his friend. “Phil?” Lloyd asked casually, and the blonde could hear the sound of traffic in the background. “I need a ride,” he breathed out, the fact that there were still a lot of cared driving around made him all the more stressed and paranoid of somebody, _anybody_ , noticing him. looking to his sides every few seconds as he held his phone tightly close to his ear. Clenching his jaw as he heard static through the other side, he growled low from his throat while awaiting for an answer, his blood running hot through his veins as he held the bag tighter against his shoulder and the faraway sound of the police car made him shiver as he closed his eyes and tried to look as normal as he could allow himself to be. “Where are you?” Lloyd asked finally, and Phil sighed as some tension left his shoulders before telling him the street address and hanging up immediately. His grey hoodie was still pulled over his head and thick drops of blood stained the fabric, but it was dark and he looked almost completely innocent, apart from the heavily suspicious backpack around his shoulder of course, but it was still dangerous.

 

Lloyd turned his cab around after the call and cleared his throat, sighing as he closed the open window and shivered in his seat. _Winter is definitely here_ , he thought to himself bitterly and looked at the road ahead with a frown. His job was tiring. Way more than he expected it to be, but the fun part was the fact that he got to know at least half of town thanks to that damn cab. All kinds of people. The good, the bad, the innocent, the convicted, the powerful, the weak...and then there was _Phil_. Oh, the small blonde was defiantly one of the most interesting people he had met. Not entirely sane, yet not in the verge of instability to the point it clouded his mind. He was...in the middle, he assumed, and that was refreshing. Not being on either side, but in the middle of both, much like himself. Maybe that's why the two grew to enjoy each other's company. A few times Lloyd even let the man ride for free, And for that he was invited for a few parties and what not. Delightful, really. Neither of them was really considering the other as a close friend, but defiantly someone they could put their trust in when dealing with something major. People like himself and Phil didn't Have anyone really, they were both...neither isolated, due to their personalities and ways of behavior, or isolating themselves from others. It would have happened eventually. Why bother letting the others pull away from them when realizing their true nature instead of never getting close to them in the first place? He was fine by his own. So was Phil. And it was nice, to found someone alike to himself when the rest were in obvious sides of the human nature, but not them. No. The lines that kept the others from moving back and forth wasn't keeping either of them from standing in the middle; having normal life and yet in the shadows of the night coloring their souls in red and grey and everything filthy, instead of not doing it at all, or doing it in the daylight. Why would anyone be satisfied with being so called ‘normal’ in this world or ‘insane', when they could be both and enjoy their fair share of both cruelty and kindness, sanity and madness?  

 

Opening the window just a little, Lloyd sighed at the fresh air, and soon closed it once more due to his sensitivity. Spring will be here in a few months...yet catching a cold didn't sound so bad; it’d get him a few days off work, and a chance to try out that new hot chocolate drink with the chocolate chips and cream he always didn't manage to try out because of the time he spent in the car, and sipping from it when he was on break wasn't acceptable. He was picky, sure, he rathered buying the damn drink and going home to watch whatever was on television and relax, than to buy it while he was working. And cold. Trapped in a damn taxi almost all day, everyday, but he learned how to deal with the tension. It was good money too, and provided him new information about the city’s known streets, a very _useful_ information.

 

He blinked and created eye contact with Phil, reading his body language before watching him opening the door and getting inside as quickly as he could. _The fucker is sweating all over my back seat_ , he thought when the blond closed the door and let out a heavy breath. He had to lower the radio which sucked because ‘Partners in Crime’ by Set it Off just started. He could hear Phil's low chuckle at the face he made when having to ignore his favorite song. “Aww! Don't be like _that”,_ his voice was gleeful and very misguiding, mostly because usually the man didn't give a shit about what he was feeling exactly, but that was mutual between them. “What was so important?” Lloyd sighed in annoyance and turned around to meet his friend's cold gaze, which caused a shiver to go down his spine at the drastic change in his mood. Phil hissed and placed his heavy black bag beside him before opening the window to let a fresh wave of cold air in, then clicked his tongue and spread his legs. “Hello to you too, how are the kids?” he snorted out. “I wouldn't have called if it wasn't, it doesn't matter anyway and it's none of _your_ business. Now drive around the city, don't stop until I'll tell you.”

 

Glaring at Phil, Lloyd then shrugged and turned around, annoyance all over his face as he started the car again and began driving. “You got any cash?” he asked. Usually he would let Phil have a ride for free when he didn't have any money, it wasn't a big deal, but as for right now he didn't feel like the most generous person towards the man. Or generous at all, for that matter, according to his current behavior, which now spoiled his night. Awesome. Lloyd saw Phil reaching out for the black bag he had beside him before he focused on the road again, curiosity ate through his insides but the last thing he wanted was to crush the car and kill them both. The street was dark and it made him uncomfortable as always, giving him chills and causing his stomach to turn. At least there was light on the car, maybe it was a bit too bright for his buddy in the back but he didn't give a single shit about that right now.

 

“Here,” the blond said after a moment and handed him a 100$ bill, right when his friend stopped the car and turned around to take it, the next thing he knew was that a cold edge of a loaded gun was pressed into his forehead, and he froze, his eyes filled with both panic and the uncontrollable need to choke Phil half to death for threatening _him._ Being threatened by one of his victims was normal, just as being threatened by thugs was, but threatened by someone he considered as to be his best friend? It made his blood boil and his greenish blue eyes to sparkle with fury at the man, not minding he might get a bullet into his brain, and then he saw what the junkie was trying to hide from him. The black bag was opened just a little, but Lloyd trusted himself when he saw green piles of money laying there. He connected the dots in his mind a moment before he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and pulled forward, letting out a surprised yelp now that he could feel Phil's heavy breath against his nose. “Why the fuck did turned around? What was that for? Huh? You're supposed to drive the goddamn--,” growling and cutting the blond halfway through what he was saying, the driver chuckled low from his throat. “You robbed a fucking bank,” he stated with glee, sanity vanished from his eyes as he ignored the gun pressed to his forehead and grabbed Phil by his grey hoodie, earning a groan from him as he received a hit on his head by the cold gun, hard enough to draw blood down his right eye, but he didn't care for it right now. “You robbed a fucking bank and you called _me_ to bust you out, and you didn't have the _balls_ to tell me what was going on!” Lloyd practically yelled at his friend, who opened his mouth to speak and then closed it, confusion in his eyes at the words Lloyd shot towards him, he didn't even _think_ of the possibility of telling him because of very simple reason. Lowering the gun and letting go of the collar of the other's shirt, Phil looked at him seriously, shame burning bright in his greenish blue eyes as he watched his friend and sighed. “I didn't want to get you involved in this illegal shit, alright?”

 

“Excuse me?” Lloyd snapped forward, causing Phil to hiss and look away for a moment, trying to figure out what to say next but the driver was quicker. “Listen, you fucking princess, you don't get to _decide_ whether you want me involved in your shit or not. The moment I stepped into your fucking life I knew what I was getting into,” he spitted in anger at the unusual protective behavior Phil showed towards him, neither of them was used to it, and for him to just start act that way was downright weird. “You could have been in jail by now if you hadn't called me, and believe me when I tell you if you'll _ever_ keep me out again in anything that might get you into trouble with the cops again I will fucking kill you and dance around your damn corpse. You got that?” Phil growled in response and rolled his eyes before reaching out for the tissues he knew Lloyd always kept in the car's gloves's drawer, taking a few before he wiped the blood that dropped down from the man's forehead and down his eye all the while they watched each other in silence. “Sorry about your forehead. I don't think you'll need stitches, though.” chuckling in amusement as the pain caused a shiver to go down his spine, the taller blond grinned. “Ah, well thank you for your diagnoses, Doctor Jacobs,” Lloyd then turned around and continued the drive for a bit more, switching the radio back on, right in time for Set it off’s ‘Duality.’

 

A while passed and Phil enjoyed the cool air from the open window against his cheek, blinking when he realized Lloyd had been shivering in his seat all along. He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, biting his lip. “Stop the car,” he breathed out, hearing the driver's confused voice a moment later while he followed his friend's guidance, then turning around to the sight off him taking off his grey hoodie, remaining in his dark red tank top he wore underneath. “What are you doin--,” Lloyd was about to ask before he was given the hoodie with a groan. “Why didn't you tell me your were cold? I forgot about your sensitivity for the weather, I'm sorry. Now _wear it.”_ it wasn't an invention of course, and Lloyd hurried and wore the hoodie, which was tight over his chest since he was just a few inches taller from Phil, but other than that the small side kept him surprisingly warm as it didn't entirely crashed his insides. “Thank you-- _wait._ Your hoodie is covered in blood!” he growled in disgust as Phil rolled his eyes and leaned back, “You were cold. I didn't exactly think you’d be the most picky person about _a few_ drops of fucking blood, Quincy.” he shot a glare at the man before watching him turning around and starting the car again, sighing from his seat as they fell into silence again. Phil blushed slightly and folded his arms to his chest, closing his eyes for a little while as the  sight of Lloyd wearing his bloody hoodie brought a slight smirk to his face, both the smell of the blond’s perfume and the strong scent of the blood got mixed together into a beautiful mess, but he knew it wouldn't last anyway, his friend over there wasn't exactly the murderous type like himself, and that was fine. It wasn't like they had to be the exact reflection of the other; what made their friendship so great was the mixing of their habits and insanity into a one big ‘fuck you’ to all the ordinary people with their sane little minds and boring-ass lives. They would _never_ be as exciting as Lloyd and himself.

 

He was waken later by a tug over his shoulder, snapping his eyes open to see Lloyd looking at him through tired eyes. Well, he _had_ been driving for like three hours now, the watch over his wrist showed it was almost 2 AM now, which was crazy. Knowing his friend, he couldn't stay in the car for that long without stretching his legs at least twice before carrying on with the ride, but as he slept he didn't feel the car stopping. Not even once. “Get up, I parked near your house. I think it's clear now,” he listened to him and moved closer to the window, the cab’s front lights showing his front lawn which was empty, pretty dead, really. Phil then turned his head to watch the taller blond with a smile. “Thanks buddy. I don't know what I'd do without you,” he admitted and ruffled the other's hair lightly, chuckling before he opened the door and closed his long black bag pack, kicking it to the ground as he pulled himself out.

 

The sound of Lloyd calling his name made him stop and then lean back to his friend’s attention, confusion in his eyes before he was pulled against him by his tank top, feeling their lips pressing against each other's, his eyes opening up wide before Lloyd pulled away from him and watched him closely. “Be safe. Now get the fuck out of my cab.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you @m4dh4tteywrites for helping me headcanon these boys! you are so dear <3
> 
> Please take your time to kudos and comment your thoughts down below, it will be very much appriciated!  
> My Tumblr - https://will-grammer.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, until next time.  
> -Alex.


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